Bathing apparatus.



W. E. ALLEN.

BATHING APPARATUS.

AIfPLloATIoN FILED MAY 6, 1910.

- 1,055,875, y atencea, Mar. 25, 1913.

PATENT onnicn.

WILLARD E. ALLEN, OF TOLEDO, OHIO.

BATI-IING' APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

y Application filed May 6, 1910. Serial No. 559,658.

To @ZZ whom t may concern Be it known that I, IVILLARD E. ALLEN, acitizen of the United States, and a resident of Toledo, in the county ofLucas and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Bathing Apparatus, yof which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to bathing appa* ratus, and relates particularlyto bath mat-s for catching and removing the used water when takingsponge baths, shower baths, and the like, where regular bathingfacilities are notl provided o-r available, of the general typecomprising a body portion and an upstanding marginal rim which, whenextended, forms a shallowreceptacle and when raised by its rim willcollapse, thus forming a relatively deeper receptacle into which thewater willsettle, thus providing for conveniently removing the samewit-hout spilling.

The object of the present invention is to provide stiff or substantiallyrigid handles for bath mats of this type, which will also form supportsfor the upturned edges of said mats when in use and which may be readilydetached, thus providing for disconneet-ing the same and for compactlyfolding said mats into small space for convenience in packing andcarrying the same; a convenient manner of packing being to wrap thedetached handles in the body portion of said mats.

To this end, a bath mat of my invention comprises the various featuresand details of construction hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawing, in which my invention is fullyillustrated-Figure l is a perspective view of a bath mat of myinvention, extended and ready for use. Fig. 2 is a view thereof whenraised by its handles, for the purpose of removing and emptying same;and Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view on the line 3 3 ofFig. 1.

Referring now to the drawings, 1 designates the body portion of the matwhich is made of suitable iiexible, impervious material, preferablyrubber cloth, the edges of which are turned up, interfolded andconnected, preferably by stitching, to form a continuous water tight rim2. The rim 2 is preferably reinforced and strengthened by means ofsuitable stiffening material attached thereto, preferably and as shown,consisting of a band 3 of strong fabric, as webbing. As shown, said bandis secured to the rim by turning the upper edges of said rim 2 over theupper edge of said stiffening band and stitching them together,preferably by stitches extending through both laps of said rim and theintermediate stiifening band. I.

,desire it understood, however, that I do not desire to limit myinvention to use in connection with the specific form of mat shown,which is illustrative only, my invention being readily adaptable to allforms of bath mats of this type of which I have any y knowledge.

The handles of my improved bath mat, designated by the reference numeral4, each consist of a plurality, preferably two, connected rods or wires41 an end of each of which is free and said free ends being adapt- I edto be connected to the rim 2 of the mat at spaced points adjacent to theupper edge thereof, preferably by hinged connectionsso constructed andarranged that said handles may be readily connected to and disconnectedfrom 'ysaidmats In the preferable construction shown, each of saidhandles 4 is formed by an integral piece of rod or wire of properlength, bent between its ends to form the connected rods or wires 41,the manner of bending said pieces of rod or wire being such that theends thereof, that is, the connected rods or wires 41, will be insubstantially the same plane so that they will lie flat upon the flooror other supporting sur face. As shown, also, said handles 4 areconnected to the rim of the mat so as to turn freely by hooks 5 formedon the free ends thereof, which are adapted to engage eyelets 6 formedin said rim.

At a distance from the base of the hooks 5, about equal to the height ofthe holes 6 above the bottom of the mat, the rods 41 are bent so thatthe end sections 7 thereof will extend at angles, preferably about atright angles, to the main sections of said rods or wires 41, the mannerof bending being preferably such that the hooks 5 will be turned towardthe connected ends of the rods or wires 41.

With the described construction, it is obvious that when the matis`ready for use, the handles 4 will extend inwardly toward the centerof the mat, said handles being preferably of such length that theadjacent ends thereof may all be grasped with one hand, thus providingfor conveniently raising and carrying the same. With the describedconstruction, also, the weight of the handles 4 Patented Mar. 25, 1913.v

will operate` to cause the main sections of said handles to rest flatupon the bottom of the mat, thereby causing the end sections 7 thereofand with them the rim 2 at the points of connection of said handles tosaid rim, to assume an upright position substantially at right angles tothe bottom of the mat. In this manner the handles 4 will affordconvenient means for lifting and carrying the mat and will also operateto support the rim of the mat in upright or raised position when saidmat is in use, in the manner desired.

As the rods or wires forming the handles 4, if resting on the bottom ofthe mat, may

hurt the feet of a person using the mat, said handles may, if desired,be connected to the rim of the mat in such manner that they will lieentirely outside of the mat, thus leaving the bottom thereof entirelyfree from obstructions. rIhis can be conveniently effected by merelyreversing the handles, as indicated in dotted lines at 42 in Figs. l and3 of the drawing. VWith the handles connected in the manner lastdescribed, it will of course be necessary to swing them inwardly when itis desired to raise the mat.

The manner of using the mat will be readily understood by personsfamiliar with such mats and need not therefore be described.

In folding the mat preparatory to packing the same, t-he handles 4 willfirst be detached, which can be conveniently done by disengaging thehooks 5 from the eyelets 6. The mat is then folded, the handles 4 beingwrapped therein or packed separately.

I claim l. A bath mat of the type described, comprising handles, eachcomprising connected rods or wires having separated ends adapted to beconnected to the rim of the mat, and said handles also comprising endsections which are bent upwardly relatively to the plane of the mainsections of said handles, substantially as described.

. 2. A bath mat of the type described, comprising handles each formed bya single piece of rod or wire bent to form connected sections lying insubstantially the same plane, and hooks adapted for engagement witheyelets in the rim of the mat formed atthe ends of said connectedsections, the ends of said handle sections being bent upwardlyrelatively to the plane of the main sections thereof, substantially asdescribed.

In testimony, that I claim the foregoing as my invention, I atliX mysignature in presence of two subscribing Witnesses, this 23d day ofApril, A. D. 1910.

WILLARD E. ALLEN.

Witnesses:

M. FRITTER, R. R. RITTER.

Gopies' of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of ZPatents, Washington, D. C.

